Certification FAQs

This is a certification process for a health care compliance professional that is offered by the Health Ethics Trust (the “Trust” or “HET”).

The Trust began the process of establishing health care compliance professional certification shortly after the Trust’s inception in 1995. The goal of HET’s certification program is to promote professionalism and competence throughout the health care compliance community.

HET is a division of the Council of Ethical Organizations (a non-profit, non-partisan organization committed to promoting ethical and legal conduct in private organizations, government, and the professions). The purpose of the Trust is to promote sharing of information and the establishment of best practices in health care compliance and ethics.

Compliance responsibilities continue to grow more complex, more regulated and more costly. New, more rigorous benchmarks for effective programs are demanded. The HET certification process is very comprehensive.

The Trust believes this approach is necessary because the compliance professional role is a complex, dynamic and challenging one. This is particularly the case for compliance professionals working in the current health care environment. The HET certification process is periodically reviewed and updated to ensure its continued relevance to health care compliance professionals.

The Trust’s certification process in overseen by the Education Committee of the Council of Ethical Organizations. This is an independent, objective and voluntary committee of experienced compliance professionals (health care and non-health care) from around the country.

Members of this committee oversee changes to HET certification criteria as well as reviewing individual applications for HET certification. Members of the Council staff only serve in an administrative and advisory capacity to the Education Committee. This means that they do not have any decision-making authority regarding HET certification applications. Council staff can, however, offer advice on how to best prepare for HET certification.

In order to earn the CCP certification, an individual must complete compliance related courses, have worked one year in a compliance position, and be recommended for certification by your supervisor.

The application for the Certified Compliance Professional credential is built around specific factors. These factors include professional experience; higher education background and related continuing education. All items submitted for review with the exception of higher education must have been accomplished in the last four years.

Requirement: A total of 100 points is required in the identified categories to qualify for this Certification. The points are listed at the top of each section indicate the minimum/maximum points a candidate must have in each category. An applicant must have the minimum number of points in each category in addition to a total of at least 100 points.

Requirement: Basic Work Experience in Compliance and/or Ethics-related Area

• Current or recent (one-year minimum) workplace-based experience in a compliance and/or ethics-related area. This includes experience where the applicant undertakes compliance and/or ethics work as part of their duties, but does not necessarily have primary responsibility for this area (e.g., an individual serving as a compliance director, compliance-training specialist or investigator under the supervision of the chief compliance officer).

* Special Note: You can apply with less than one year’s experience, but we ask to be notified at the completion of the one-year mark. 

Requirement: Submission of a letter of recommendation from a supervisor or superior as evidence of relevant experience.

Requirement: Submission of a resume detailing the applicant’s background and compliance/ethics related work experience.

When sufficient points are accumulated and eligibility is determined, an essay examination will be scheduled on topics such as those in Part IV of the application. The written examination is tailored to the individual applicant and evaluated by compliance professionals serving on the Council of Ethical Organizations Education Committee. Thus, the test questions for an applicant working for a health plan might differ somewhat in focus from those for an applicant working for a home care agency.

In 2002, the Education Committee and HET implemented a continuing education requirement for maintaining certification. This means that all HET Certified Compliance Professionals who wish to maintain their certification must meet the continuing education requirements over a defined period of time. The only exception is for individuals who retire while currently certified. This stipulation was introduced because both the Trust and the Committee believe that the field of ethics and compliance is evolving rapidly and that continuing education is important to meet the growing challenges in the field of compliance/ethics.

Requirements to maintain certification became effective in 2003. From this time on, every three years, all HET Certified Compliance Professionals are encouraged to apply for re-certification or advanced certification (CCE).

The CCP certificate of achievement is valid for three years. It can be kept current by completion of 40 continuing education points submitted to the Council of Ethical Organizations within each additional three-year period. 16 of the CEUs must be earned through the Council’s sponsored programs (that is, one Council program every 3 years.)

There is an application fee of $150.00 to process each certification application. This fee should be sent with the application. This fee includes the review and evaluation of points and essays. In the event that an applicant does not initially meet the minimum point requirements for essay submission, the fee remains valid for three years to allow time for accumulation of points. There is no charge for re-submission to the Education Committee. This fee is waived for employees of organizations that are members of the Council of Ethical Organizations and the Health Ethics Trust.

Successful applicants for the HET Certified Compliance Professional status will be notified by email. Once applicants have been approved, they are entitled to use the designator “CCP” (i.e., Certified Compliance Professional) after their name. HET certified compliance professionals are publicly acknowledged and receive a plaque at the Healthcare Best Compliance Practices Forum. The Forum is sponsored by the HET and is held in Washington, DC every year.

• Completed application form
• Brief introductory/cover letter
• Letter of recommendation
• Resume/summary of work experience
• All supporting documentation
• One copy of the entire application (electronic or physical copy)
• Application fee $150 (Non-members only)

This is an advanced certification process for compliance executives offered by the Health Ethics Trust (the “Trust” or “HET”). The Trust began the process of establishing a basic health care compliance certification shortly after the Trust’s inception in 1995. The goal of all HET certification programs is to promote professionalism, competence and excellence throughout the compliance community. HET is a division of the Council of Ethical Organizations (a non-profit, organization committed to promoting ethical and legal conduct in private organizations, government and professions). The purpose of the Trust is to promote sharing of information and the establishment of best practices in health care compliance and ethics.

Compliance responsibilities continue to grow more complex, more regulated and more costly. New, more rigorous benchmarks for effective programs are demanded. Those who go beyond exhibiting professionalism to providing compliance leadership in this demanding environment deserve recognition commensurate with their contributions.

All HET certification processes are very comprehensive. The Trust believes this approach is necessary because the compliance executive role is a complex, dynamic and challenging one. This is particularly true for compliance executives working in the current health care environment. HET certification processes are periodically updated to ensure their continued relevance to health care compliance professionals and executives.

The Trust’s certification processes are overseen by the Education Committee of the Council of Ethical Organizations. This is an independent and voluntary committee of experienced compliance executives (health care and non-health care) from around the country. Members of this committee oversee changes to HET certification criteria as well as reviewing applications for HET certification. Members of the Council staff only serve in an advisory capacity to the Education Committee. This means that they do not having decision making authority regarding HET certification applications. Council staff can, however, offer advice to candidates on how to best prepare and present applications for HET certifications.

In order to earn the CCE certification, an individual must complete compliance related courses and work in a senior compliance position for three years after completing basic certification. While there are additional requirements, the key point is that the CCE certification is intended for those with experience and leadership responsibilities in a compliance program.

The application for the CCE credential is built around specific categories. These factors include executive experience, educational background and continuing education. All items submitted for review with the exception of higher education must have been accomplished in the last three years.

Requirement: A total of 170 points is required in the identified categories to qualify for this Certification. See the application form for categories and point requirements. The points listed to the right of each section indicate the minimum points a candidate must have in each category well as the maximum points associated with category. Please note that you must satisfy the minimum number of points in each category to be qualified. Excess points may be submitted for review but an applicant must have 170 qualified points (meeting all category minimums) to achieve the CCE designation.

In 2002, the Education Committee and the HET decided to implement a new continuing education requirement for maintaining certification. This means that all HET Certified Compliance Executives that wish to maintain their certification must meet the continuing education requirements over a defined period of time. The only exception is for individuals who retire while currently certified. This stipulation was introduced because both the Trust and the Committee believe that the field of ethics and compliance is evolving rapidly and continuing education is important to meet the growing challenges in the field of compliance/ethics.

Every three years, all HET Certified Compliance Professionals and Executives are encouraged to apply for continuation of their basic (CCP) or advanced certification (CCE) status as appropriate at the time.

Certification status is valid for three years. It can be kept current by completion of 40 continuing education points submitted to the Council within each additional three-year period. 16 of the CEUs must be earned through the Council’s sponsored programs (that is, one Council program every 3 years.)

There is an application fee of $300 for non-members and $150 for members of the Health Ethics Trust to process each certification application. This should be sent with the application. This fee includes the review and evaluation of points and essays. In the event that an applicant does not initially meet the minimum point requirement for essay submission, the fee remains valid for three years to allow time for accumulation of points. There is no charge for re-submission to the Education Committee within this three year period.

Successful applicants for the HET Certified Compliance Executive status will be notified by email. Once applicants are approved, they are entitled to use the designator “CCE” (i.e., Certified Compliance Executive) after their name. HET certified compliance executives are publicly acknowledged and receive a plaque at the Healthcare Best Compliance Practices Forum. This Forum is sponsored by the HET and is held in Washington, DC every year.

• Completed application form
• Brief introductory/cover letter
• Letter of recommendation
• Resume/summary of work experience
• All supporting documentation
• One copy of the entire application (electronic or physical)
• The appropriate application fee

Applications for HET certification are reviewed by members of the Education Committee of the Council of Ethical Organizations. Responsibility for reviewing applications rotates among members of the Committee. Each application is reviewed by no fewer than three members of the Committee. All applications are reviewed with recognition of the wide range of backgrounds represented among current graduates, while maintaining the Trust’s goal of advancing the competence and reputation of health care compliance professionals. Committee members judge applications strictly according to the certification criteria.

Please contact the Director of Programs at 703-683-7916 with any questions or to request an update of your current certification status.

Please send all certification applications to the following address:

Alternatively you can email them to DirectorOfPrograms@corporateethics.com